Confused? You’re not alone! Here are some common web design terms defined. For a complete list,
check out this link.
Accessibility
Basically, this is the ability of a website to be used by people with disabilities, including visually impaired visitors using screen readers, hearing impaired visitors using no sound, color blind people, or those with other disabilities.
Back End
The back end of a website is the part hidden from view of regular website visitors.
Backlink
Backlinks are links from other sites back to your own.
Bounce Rate
A website’s bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave the site from the same page they entered the site, without clicking through to any other pages.
Breadcrumb
Breadcrumbs are the bit of navigation elements that generally appear near the top of a give web page that show you the pages and subpages the appear before the page you’re on.
Browser
Browser refers to the program a website visitor is using to view the web site. Examples include Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Internet Explorer.
Cascading Style Sheets
Also referred to simply as CSS, Cascading Style Sheets are used to define the look and feel of a web site outside of the actual HTML file(s) of the site.
Content Management System
Also known as a CMS, the Content Management System is a backend tool for managing a site’s content that separates said content from the design and functionality of the site. It makes it easier for content to be added to the site for people who aren’t designers.
DNS
Stands for Domain Name Service (alternately Domain Name System or Domain Name Server). Basically, it’s the thing that converts IP addresses into domain names.
Domain
The domain is the name by which a website is identified.
E-Commerce
Short for electronic commerce. It’s the buying and selling of goods online, through websites. Products sold through e-commerce can be physical products that require shipping, or digital products delivered electronically.
Front-End
The front-end is basically the opposite of the back-end. It’s all the components of a website that a visitor to the site can see (pages, images, content, etc.)
HTML
Stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It’s the primary language used to write web pages.
Hyperlink
A hyperlink is a link from one web page to another, either on the same site or another one.
Landing Page
A landing page is the page where a visitor first enters a website.
Navigation
Navigation refers to the system that allows visitors to a website to move around that site.
Open Source
Open source refers to the source code of a computer program being made available to the general public.
Plug-In
A plug-in is a bit of third party code that extends the capabilities of a website.
RSS
RSS also allows visitors to subscribe to a blog or other site and receive updates via a feed reader.
URL
A site’s URL is its address, the item that specifies where on the Internet it can the found.
Usability
Usability refers to how easy it is for a visitor to your site to use your site in its intended manner.
Valid
Valid web pages are those where the code used on the page conforms to the specifications for that version of HTML/XHTML.
Web Server
A web server is a computer that has software installed and networking capabilities that allow it to host web sites and pages and make them available to internet users located elsewhere.
Web Standards
Standards are specifications recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium for standardizing website design.
XHTML
Stands for Extensible Hypertext Markup Language. Basically, XHTML is HTML 4.0 that has been rewritten to comply with XML rules.
